Mildred CIOWW Neatest nurse ever" New Hospital is Goal of Community
a recent visit with Miss
Mildred Clory in the neat-as-afun
Heppner apartment
was so delightful and so edu
cational. Her sparkling eyes
and lively manner mike it
hard to believe that she was
S3 years old in June of this
Newspapers in
Morrow County
Cont. from page 10
first, The Bunchgrass Blade
was being published during
1885, the year of Lexington s
birth and its tremendous com
petition for the County Seat.
The name of its operator is
not recorded, and it is doubt
ful if copies of it exist-it
died soon after Heppner was
awarded the county seat
Two yearslater The Weekly
Budget Has being put out by
Mr. Snow and Mr. Whitson,
and was probably printed on
the same type used for the
first paper. The Budget ran
for three years, and then was
sold to the Morrow bounty
Record edited by JohnCoffey.
Some historians say tnis pa
per was called The Heppner
Record and it is also titled
The Farmer's Alliance. It
must have been sold both in
Lexington and Heppner,
and competed with the Gaz
ette during Otis Patterson's
ow nershop.
According to Yesteryears
of Morrow, the last Lexing
ton newspaper was the Wh
eatfield run by S.S. Thomas,
but no dates are given for it.
THE 10NE POST
lane's first and most fa
mous paper The Post was qu
ite well established by 1900.
It was edited by Miss Vir
ginia Deaton.
There could have been two
papers coming out at once in
Ione--dates for them are hard
to find. Following Miss Dea
ton' s editorship, Les Hallon,
Mr. Ward, L.E. Acherman
and Rev. W.W. Head are list
ed as editors. W.W. Head
edited the lone Independent.
THE OREGON IRRIGATOR
Although it did not exist
very long, Addison Bennett's
Oregon Irrigator attracted
considerable attention. He
was hired as Irrigon's post
master about the second year
of that post office's existe
nce. Frank Holbrook being
listed as the original post
master in lyus. Mr. Bennett
soon started a weekly news
paper in one end of the lit
tle postoffice building. He
called it the Oregon Irrigator,
but changed it later to the
Irrigon Irrigator. He had
worked on newspapers inKan
sas. He is given credit for
originating the name Irrigon
by taking the first four let
ters of irrigation and combin
ing them with the last three
letters of Oregon. Mr. Ben
nett's paper was" full of droll
wit, some homespun philos
ophy, but not much adver
tising." He left Irrigon and
worked as a roving corres
pondent for the Oregonian,
and his little paper died in
1912.
Boardman had a paper for
a few years in the 1920" s
but little has been recorded
about it.
year.
Of Irish descent, this out
standing R.N. received her
training at St. Joseph's Hos
pital in Tacoma Wa. and was
first employed right there.
The sisters there soon
recommended that she accept
a position at Vaidez, Alaska
with Dr. Dalton-she traveled
7 days by ship to reach Val
dez where she was the only
R.N. in the area during her
service there.
AN ARMY NURSE
From Valdet she came
to St. Vincent's Hospital in
Portland where she was em
ployed as a night supervi
sor. Then came Worl d War
After many years of hop
ing and planning, Heppner's
fine Pioneer Memorial Hospi
tal was officially dedicated
on June 11, 1950, by Judge
Garnet Barratt who had donat
ed the land on which It was
erected. Many citizens had
been most generous in contri
buting time, money and equip
ment; In fact, no tax funds
were used for equipment
as all of it was bought with
personal subscription funds.
The hospital's commanding
position on the East Hep
pner Hill, Us present lovely
landscaping, and its view of
1, and she became an army l' "r T
nurse on duty at Fort Lewis, -
Wa. When the war ended, . JT;;?
civilian hospital desperately na!!!w12!l
needed nurses to cope with -2"?
the flu epidemic, and Miss jt
Clowry was one of 22 who j" J-frJC
resigned to work with civi- W3l-'
lians. She came to Heppner -JX' Cm
; VI
mm- .
k ..... .V ,
in the fall of 1919 to work
at the Heppner Sanitorium
which was located on Main
St. where the Northwestern
Motel is now. Doctors Win
nard, McMurdo, and Bean of
Heppner, and Dr. Chick, then
at lone, were practicing
there. There was a stove
and woodbox in each room;
the operating room was up
stairs, and it was often ne
cessary to run next door to
get Blacksmith Tom Brennan
to help carry patients up or
down the stairs. Tne sani
torium closed about 1921.
HEPPNER HOSPITAL
Heppner had no real hospi
tal then until 1927 when Dr.
McMurdo bought a house on
Quaid St., just above where
Elaine George lives now, and
enlarged and rebuilt it. In
the years between 1921 and
1927 Mrs. Jim Gentry, now
Mrs. Walter Rood (Mattie)
had a home hospital in the
downstairs room of her home,
where the Eddie Gundersons
live now. There were also
several maternity homes op
erated by midwives and prac
tical nurses.
Mattie Rood is still quick to
praise Mildred Clowry as" A
bout the greatest nurse ever,
so efficient, such wonderful
help."
With the opening of the
Heppner Hospital on Quaid
St., Nurse Clowry moved in
and was given charge. Part
of her twenty years there
her Aunt, Mrs. Annie Clowry,
a practical nurse, helped her
there.
Miss Clowry remembers
many years of long, busy
days. She did the buying,
kept the place immaculate,
and one big day when Dr. Mc
Murdo was away at a medi
cal meeting, she delivered
four babies. A very special
little companion for 17 of
her 20 years at the Heppner
Hospital was her fox terrier,
Dixie. Dixie often went
hunting with Dr. McMurdo,
who would tuck her in a pock
et of his hunting coat.
After Miss Clowry left in
1948 several persons tried to
run the hospital, but found too
many problems. Mrs. Mc
Murdo says that Miss Clowry
was . such a fine manager,
IS!
A
r
6
V ,
Mildred Clowry, R.N. at
the cornerstone of St. Pat
rick's church in 1959 while
she was working with Dr.
McMurdo.
was always a wise purchaser
of supplies, was so superior
to others who tried to carry
out similar duties. The usual
room charge of Heppner Hos
pital was $3 a day.
SHE LEAVES AND
RETURNS
In 1948 Mildred Clowry
went to Fort Collins, Co.
to stay with and help her aunt,
Mrs. Annie Clowry. In 1956
when Doctor's sister-in-law
Lulu Hager, who had worked
in Dr. McMurdo s office for
about 25 years became ill,
Miss Clowry came back to
Heppner. She lived in the
little house near Nora Ras
mus' home on Center St. In
1968 Miss Clowryretiredand
moved to Pendleton where she
lived for a short time at
St. Anthony's hospital and
found many ways to be help
ful there. However, she miss
ed Heppner and her church,
St. Patrick's and her many
friends here, so she returned
and moved into the upstairs
apartment at Mrs. Bailey's
home on Water St.
the beautiful summer sunsets
add to its practical and scien
tific service to the Morrow
County area.
ADDITIONS
In 1955, 20 more beds, in
cluding 4 pediatric beds, were
added; bringing the total cost
of the hospital to approximat
ely one half million dollars,
financed Jointly through con
tributions, tax levies and Fe
deral Hill-Burton funds.
In 1958 various improvem
ents were added; an automa
tic ice machine was donated;
the laundry was installed;
the County Health Nurse quar
ters were remodeled Into two
wards (adding S more beds
and a recreation room; front
parking area was widened and
Improved." A helpful Hospi
tal Auxiliary was Inaugurated
in 1958 with providing trans
portation one of its services.)
ADMINISTRATION
The hospital is governed by
a Board of Trustees consist
ing of S members appointed
by the County Court w ho serve
without pay and have
control over management,
maintenance and operation of
the institution. This Board
Cont. on page 12
1 ? v I I MM m
The
Quaid
Heppner Hospital on
St. about 1929 when
Miss Clowry lived there and
managed it.
Like Heppner, I
Progress is Important j
to Us i
1
tU",UH' f
ml
THE HOSPITAL AS IT APPEARED SHORTLY AFTER
THE NEW WING WAS BUILT ON IN 1954.
Pioneer Memorial
Hospital
llene Wyman, Administrator
676-9133
Heppner